1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to optical imaging devices and methods, and particularly to a camera module with selectable imaging units and a method for switching the imaging capability of such a camera module.
2. Description of Related Art
With ongoing developments in microcircuitry and multimedia technology, camera modules have become widely used in a variety of consumer electronic devices, such as cellular telephones, notebook computers, digital cameras, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. A typical camera module includes at least one lens module and an image sensor. In addition, there is a growing demand for developing more camera modules with multiple functions, such as camera modules having selectable lens modules with different functions. Furthermore, there is also an ongoing trend for consumer electronic devices to be more miniaturized.
A typical multi-functional camera module has a plurality of lens modules with different functions. A user can select which lens module he/she needs for a particular purpose, and physically install that lens module in the camera module. Thus the user can select different functions simply by switching between the different lens modules of the camera module. However, this system requires that one or more loose lens modules be available, and it may not be convenient for the user to have to carry around such camera module together with the such extra lens module(s).
Therefore, what is needed is a camera module, and a method for using the camera module, which can overcome the above-described shortcomings.